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DUSHANBE, February 23, 2010, Asia-Plus — The preliminary hearing for a lawsuit filed by three judges against three independent weeklies Asia-Plus, Farazh and Ozodagon took place in the court of Dushanbe’s Sino district today.
The preliminary hearing was scheduled for February 23, following unsuccessful attempts to agree an out-of-court-settlement.
Presiding judge Amriddin Safoyev heard arguments of the plaintiffs — two judges from the Supreme Court (Nur Nurov and Ulughbek Mahmadshoyev) and a judge from the Dushanbe city court Fakhriddin Dodometov. The plaintiffs refused to come to an agreement, confirming their claims.
In the meantime, editors of the weeklies and lawyer Solehjon Jurayev did not admit the plaintiffs’ claims. Moreover, lawyer Jurayev noted that if the judges do not recall their lawsuit, he will shoot the works to “protect violated rights of citizens.” He also intends to demand reply from the government to his statement about corruption and bias within the country’s judicial system.
Judge Amriddin Safoyev promised to schedule the first court hearing for early March. He stressed that this decision is not connected with the February 28 parliamentary elections.
We will recall that three judges from the Supreme Court and a Dushanbe’s court filed the lawsuit against lawyer Solehjon Jurayev and the independent weeklies Asia-Plus, Farazh and Ozodagon on January 29.
The judges are asking for a total of 5.5 million somoni (equivalent to more than 1.25 million) in damages after an open statement by lawyer Jurayev published in the weeklies’ editions allegedly insulted their honor and dignity. Moreover, the judges requested that the newspapers be closed pending the outcome of the case.
Many international organizations release statements, expressing concern over this situation. A group of Tajik media organizations also expressed concern over the increasing number of expensive lawsuits being brought against independent press outlets, warning that this could lead to more and more curbs on media freedom.
Media experts, lawyers and rights activists discussed the problems facing independent media when they gathered for a roundtable on February 5 organized jointly by Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan (Nansmit) in Dushanbe. The outcome was a decision to set up a group that will provide legal assistance for journalists, particularly those facing defamation cases.
